This brew was served from the tap at The Blind Tiger in New York, NY. It arrived in a generic tulip glass, glowing a clear golden yellow coloring. No real head was noted, but spots of lacing were seen dripping down the glass as the beer disappeared. There was a transient chill haze without sediment, while carbonation appeared average. The aroma was strong of adjuncty grain, heavy metallics, light molasses, and woody dryness. To cut came apple juice sugar, red grape astringency, vanilla icing, syrupy honey, and cayenne spice with warmth. Our first impression was that there was a decent buttery quality to the flavoring, while the back was very bittered with wood and citrus. The flavoring opened with the sweetness of honey, wheaty malts, chalky adjuncts, and the sweetness of orange flesh. The middle peaked with more honey, sweetness of pale grain, and fusel alcohols to wash. Citric hops, pale and wheaty malts, mustard seed, grape juiciness, and tannins blended and marked the finish of the sip. The aftertaste breathed of big tin and yeasty metals, citric hop resins, heat of booze, and more wheaty, adjuncty grain. The body was medium, and carbonation was average. There was decent froth and coating all around the mouth, with an ultimate astringent bite to the hard palate. Each sip gave okay slurp and froth, but little cream to the lip. The abv was appropriate, and this guy is more of a sipper, but goes down smooth enough.

Overall, what we liked best about this beer was the bite of flavoring. While much of this came in the form of adjuncts, the blend certainly wakes the palate up. We do wish that the advertised yerba mate was more verbose in all of its organic, woody, leafy flavoring. Everything else about this beer was just simply okay, and while this is an interesting concept, the execution is underwhelming.

A- Light colored, not a lot of head. May have been poured poorly by the bartender. It's the golden color of hay; light gets through but pictures would not.

S- Banana candy - specifically the hand candy from those little machines. Some bread grains come through as well.

T- In the mouth the banana is more real banana than the candy that presents itself in the nose. Orange juice is very prevalent by way of citrusy hops and sweetness. A touch of bubble gum is identifiable. Caramel malt sits in the background but barely stirs.

M- This ale has similar carbonation to a glass-bottled soda. It feels great going down and and leaves just a bit of thirst for the next sip. Feels like Duvel!

D- Like many belgian 'trippels' this goes down easier than it should. Intoxication may ensue but will be well worth it.

I like these sweet, extra strong Blonde Belgian brews. I'd like to go back to Belgium. I miss hops while I'm there, but their ales are indisputably the most flavorful.

A-pours a hazy golden color with a white head with pretty good retention
S-tropical fruit, bit of citrus
T-more tropical fruit, some bready flavors in the finish with an herb bitterness from the mate
M-medium-light bodied with a good amount of carbonation
O-interesting take on the style, I have had better tripels but I liked the mate added to it. I wouldn't hesitate to have it again

Bright, fruity aroma rises from a dark, golden yellow body. The head is rich, creamy, and thick. Light malt grains also present in the smell. Soft and smooth body contains a nice malt backbone; quietly sweet taste well-balanced with a definite yet not over-powering bitterness.; not overly fruity in flavor. Soft bread.

A very nice, easy drinking tripel; perhaps more of a standard pale ale profile as I didn't get much Belgian fruit notes other than in the aroma. Slightly below the ABV spectrum per BA's style guidelines for tripels, but kind of works in this beers favor. Perhaps not a classic tripel rep, but an excellent beer experience overall.

Another lovely brew captured at DeCicco's in Brewster, NY this tripel shows a light cloudy amber color with a sturdy bubbly white head and lots of lace. The aroma offers a vague vanilla dough and skunky tea. Different and intriguing. The flavor features honey tea and yeasty lemon with evergreen grain. It’s a solidly medium body brew with midland carbonation and a slightly viscous feel. This was very pleasant and something I would revisit. Definitely of the Belgian pedigree but something that might still appeal to the uninitiated.

The beer pours a slightly hazy golden color with a white head. The aroma has a lot of passion fruit and other fruit notes, along with some Belgian yeast and some biscuit malt. The flavor is completely different. I get the same tropical fruit and yeast from the aroma, but I also get a big load of herb notes - which I assume is from the Yerba Mate. There is also a light amount of tartness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Weirdly sweet and fruity. Sharp and woody. Flowery notes and makes me think of the very rank but aromatic California bay laurel leaves. Something like lacquer thinner, but more friendly to the palate. Quite bitter, and more medicinal than any hop known to man. Heads toward the harsh. Interesting for a few sips, but I am thinking of what I could wash my mouth out with that would take away this taste.

Barely drinkable, even though the flavors are interesting and might be tolerable in another context. From the 22 oz bottle. I feel like I'm foaming at the mouth. Down the drain and where's the fizzy water?

T: Sweet and mellow up front, followed by a malty rush of toasted grains and gummy, banana esters. The tea-like quality is there for sure; refreshing and slightly mineral tasting with an earthy, Yerba Mate sweetness. The finish is slightly peppery with just a hint of alcohol.

M: Sweet, smooth and mellow, this medium-bodied brew glides like a nice cup of herbal tea lightly sweetened with honey.

O: I thoroughly enjoyed this unique tripel made with Yerba Mate. As a tea fan, the 7.6% ABV was practically unnoticeable between the careful selection of grains, hops and herbal additives that make this tripel unusual as well as tasty.

T - …mmm. Not there at first, but as one progresses the mate emerges, never overwhelming but this is a distinct grassiness. Soft bitter/sweet notes, citric touches… Light yeast and spicy, and a nice grassy sense, mate, maybe off-putting to some but it feels pretty balanced all things considered.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation, and a tiny astringency in the finish.

O - Good flow, never overwhelming and with a nice character.

Notes: Nice experiment, good if one is familiar with mate, but even if one is eager to try herbal servings this one while not extraordinary is well worth the try. Props to Elysian for brewing with yerba mate in any case, I could not resist it, and it works…

Big thanks goes out to 67couple for sharing this one at a recent tasting! Served from bottle into a Kuhnhenn tulip. Poured a golden yellow with a half finger white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, banana, bubblegum, and medicinal. The flavor was of sweet malt, bubblegum, medicinal, banana, and fruit. It had a light feel on the palate with high carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. The bubblegum aspect on this one was quite surprising and welcome. However, the medicinal quality was not so welcomed. Nothing on this one really was too memorable in my opinion. Really glad I got the chance to try this one, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to do so again unless the opportunity presented itself.

Bomber served in pint glass. Beer pours pale golden with a thin white head and lots of carbonation. Belgian-y aroma.

Initial assessment of the flavor are that it's fairly sour, even for a tripel. I'm not a huge fan of yerba mate as tea (...tisane). This beer... bothers me less. The interesting combination of sourness and herbal bitterness works really well with the triple, and I give the team an A for ingenuity and execution, though a C+ for flavor.

More fruit on the tongue, then also herbal tea notes. Strange and differant take on the style, has sort of an after shave lotion quality. Which is never a good thing in a beer. Finishes with what tastes like hops but who the hell knows...not in love

A very crystal clear body, bright amber orange, but filled with lots of stuck bubbles to the glass. Lots of fast rising carbonation in places too. Head is a nice white, foamy and about two fingers on a solid pour.

Bouquet has a nice pear fruit quality, but also some fusel alcohol heat. Good sense of sugars and malt, not bad.

Appearance: lightly hazy pale-golden hue with a thick two-finger head of frothy ivory foam. Looks to be a nice lace on the glass, too.

Smell: light malt aroma with a bit of a lemony character to it. Not bad; it reminds me of a beer brewed with grains of paradise. Not bad, but I just don't feel like the lemon and malt character mesh well here.

Taste: light malt flavor with a somewhat grainy touch. Lemon character is still present but is much more subdued than in the aroma. I don't have a lot of experience with yerba mate, but I feel like it is lending an earthy character here which I rather like. It's an unusual tripel, but it works for me.

Mouthfeel: medium body with an OK level of carbonation. Creaminess is decent but not as big as I like in a tripel.

Overall: this beer gets points for being a little bit weird. It's a good basic tripel with an interesting twist.

Poured honey-orange with a small finger of bright white head. Sweet aroma of banana, pear, ginger, and clove.

Low-to-moderate carbonation and a relatively light mouthfeel. Wheat and honey up front followed by banana, light Belgian spice, and a slight yerba mate tang on the tail end that becomes more bitter as it lingers.

Clean and light with a good balance of flavors -- just enough yerba mate to make things interesting without being overbearing.

I was super excited to find this limited release brew at Barrel in St.Johns

Being a fan of Belgian Tripels, I was intrigued, then impressed by the interesting nuances that the Yerba Mate lent this brew. I really enjoyed the subtle smokiness and bitter finish from the herb infusion. Most Tripels are rather sweet from start to finish, but this one stands out of the crowd and is very well done.

Looking forward to the next 11 releases..I plan on buying a couple of each of the 12 Beers of the Apocalypse. One to drink now and one to save for an end of the world beer tasting with my friends.

Elysian came up with a killer concept and it will be interesting to see what beers are to follow..

This beer was not high on my list of "must try". However, my local beer-slinger gave me a sample to quaff.
The nose was very average...not sure I picked up the Yerba Mate, however, I am not a Yerba Mate pro.
Taste was off a little....maybe the lines. However, I would drink this beer if bought for me....but won't buy it.

Taste: (4.5)
- Nice blend of herbal flare, light bitter zest, sweet malt, candies, and grassy hop. This bad boy is balanced beyond belief. Not as zesty and yeasty as a common Tripel, but Elysian has certainly made it their own with this one while staying true to the style. The taste must be the best quality about this beer. Little spice, fresh herbs again hit the palate, zingy clean taste.

Mouth Feel: (4.0)
- Medium to almost light body. It's certainly a drying brew. Light stickiness, touch syrupy, but more so puckering and cloying. Carbonation is nice and not overdone like so many of this style.

Overall: (4.5)
- Very solid, very balanced, and very tasty beer. I really like it, and I rarely seek out a Tripel as a regular drinker. But I will buy more of this one. It's quite good, and a very nice start to the 12 beers of the Apocalypse series. This puppy seems near perfected.